The Red Bridge at Fota
A scarlet-railed bridge, a limestone arch, and a pond almost still enough to hand you a second bridge for free. I caught this one at Fota Wildlife Park, framed through a gap in the spring foliage, the fresh greens crowding in from both sides. The contrast is what pulls me in. Those bold red posts…
Eye of the Eagle
I spent a few minutes watching this white-tailed eagle do absolutely nothing, and it was riveting. It sat on its branch at Fota Wildlife Park like it owned the place which, fair enough, when you’re the largest bird of prey in Ireland, you probably do. The dark backdrop did me a favour here, throwing all…
Little Grebe, Smaller Grebe
I was visiting Fota Wildlife Park with Henry recently when he spotted these two in an enclosure and I genuinely cannot get over how small a little grebe chick is. It’s basically a wet pom-pom with an attitude. The adult, all chestnut throat and businesslike beak, was patrolling the surface and the chick paddled over,…
A Siamang and Her Little Passenger
The siamang barely moved while I framed the shot. Two long arms hooked around the timber, and then a bundle of jet-black fur with two enormous eyes peering up. I’d wandered over to Fota’s gibbon island half-expecting the usual whooping chorus, but instead caught this quieter scene: mum holding her ground in a patch of…
The Patient Watchers of Fota Wildlife Park
Two herons, two very different moods. The first one had clambered up into the bare branches like it owned the place, scruffy chest plumes blowing about and that sharp yellow eye scanning the park below. The second was posing in profile on the netting above one of the enclosures, side-lit by late sun that caught…
Eye of the Bison
I didn’t know there were bison at Fota Wildlife Park, but near the end of my walk there with Henry we stopped at a field containing these large beasts! I wonder if they were overheating in their winter coats in the warm April sunshine, but I suspect the cold wind that blew through at intervals…
An Emerald at Fota
This handsome iguana was lounging on a branch in the hothouse at Fota Wildlife Park this morning. He didn’t seem bothered by the passing crowds: kids, parents and inquisitive photographers with the wrong lenses. A bit of cropping and I had the frame I wanted. That red-rimmed stare never left me though, watching from the…
Fota’s Black and White Ruffed Lemur
A black and white Ruffed Lemur in Fota Wildlife Park in 2011.
Cheetah Cuddles
Cheetahs cuddle and groom each other at Fota Wildlife Park in Co Cork.